Poll says it's Naylor for mayor

BY GRANT MILLER

Palmerston North mayor Jono Naylor is on track for a landslide victory at next month's election, according to a Manawatu Standard-commissioned poll.

The Versus Research poll asked 467 registered voters who they would back to lead the city.

If an election were held now, Mr Naylor would win with 61 per cent support, well ahead of second place challenger Mark Bell-Booth, on 8 per cent. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 per cent.

Three other candidates – Grant Seton, Russell Johnson and Leighton Haar – each had 1 per cent support, while nobody indicated they would vote for Arshad Chatha.

Mr Naylor said the poll was encouraging and it reflected feedback he had received in the community.

They wanted stability after a series of one-term mayors, he said.

"People are reasonably happy with how things are going. They've been waiting 12 years for a mayor they are comfortable to re-elect."

However, he said he didn't want to take his re-election for granted and it was important for him to be accountable to people.

Regardless of his level of support, he needed to communicate well with the community about what he was doing, he said.

Mr Bell-Booth's immediate response to the poll was: "Really – that's fairly resounding isn't it?"

He believed he would make up ground.

"I'm surprised, but we'll press on until October 9 [when election results are declared].

"Obviously the next few weeks are going to be really important. Clearly, there's a task ahead."

The Standard suggested to Mr Bell-Booth his campaign was suffering from people being unsure why he was trying to regain the mayoralty after being voted out in 2004. He said he could see problems ahead for the city and he was solutions-focused.

The impact of the recession was not well understood, he said.

Mr Bell-Booth said Mr Naylor had a "let's talk about it" leadership style.

"Despite all the nice words, I don't see any plan to improve."

The council had got itself into a debt problem, he said.

Mr Bell-Booth also said the council's support for solar-powered parking sensors to boost parking enforcement would result in shoppers being scared away from the central business district.

He has made the plight of Broadway Ave, the city's traditional main shopping street, a central plank of his campaign.

The poll, conducted this week by telephone, indicated Mr Bell-Booth's support was most likely to come from people aged 40 to 60 and he had stronger support from men.

Mr Naylor had above 50 per cent support in all age categories. He had 59 per cent support of all men and 62 per cent of women supported him.

The Manawatu Standard will hold a mayoral debate as the election approaches, with incumbent Jono Naylor going head to head with main rival Mark Bell-Booth.

The debate will be in the Sound and Vision zone of the city library on September 15, two days before voting papers are due to be delivered. It will be moderated by Standard editor Michael Cummings.

It will start at 6.45pm and is due to finish at 8pm. The public is welcome to attend.

The two debate participants were selected based on poll results.

On Monday, the Standard will reveal the result of a poll asking city residents their views on wind farms.

- © Fairfax NZ News